Trump Card: The 99th Hunger Games
by Sovereign2
Summary: When a 14-year-old from District 9 is chosen to be one of the 24 children fighting to death in the 99th Hunger Games, he has something that no one else has. A trump card that he hopes could lead him to being crowned victor. Will Julian Throne be able to survive this dangerous and bloody Games? Or will he fall like so many others? *ON HIATUS*
1. Bloodsport

_**AN: Welcome everyone! I have decided to start writing another story because I'm not getting any tributes for my SYOT, and the ones that I did get weren't as detailed or interesting as I had hoped. So without further ado, I present you to the first chapter of 'Trump Card' (title may be changed, I don't know yet). Please review, without your support I won't be able to continue writing. **_

_**Anyway**__**…**_

**Welcome to a future where Katniss won the Hunger Games alone and led a terrifying existence as a victor back in District Twelve. Now, 25 years into the future, the Capitol still holds a tyrannical rule over Panem. The Hunger Games roar more dangerously than ever - still a terrifying reminder of the Capitol****'****s hunger for blood.**

As Julian Throne stood silently waiting for the tube to ascend into the Arena, the boy from District Nine knew exactly what kind of game he would play when his name was drawn for the 99th Hunger Games. He didn't want to appear weak to any of his competitors, so he excelled in his use of a sickle; something he had used for years in the fields of his District. This skill earned him a score of 7 from the Gamemakers, one he was proud of. His interview with Cesar Flickerman was of average. He merely asked the questions that Flickerman gave him and said that he hoped to win so that he could support his parents and three younger sisters back home.

What he didn't let anyone know about was his trump card. Before Julian had left District 9, he spoke to his girlfriend, Holly. When they were alone, Julian told Holly that if he won the Games, he would return home to District 9 and marry her. They were only sixteen, but they were both deeply in love and Julian's only wish was to provide a life for her. As he thought of her, Julian's hand wondered inside his pocket and he pulled out the silky and white handkerchief inside. Holly had gave him it to keep as a token, the one she would use to wipe the sweat of her brow when working in the wheat fields underneath the searing hot sun. She had told him to play up their engagement to win sponsors and support.

Julian didn't mention Holly in the interview, because he knew that he had to use his trump card at the right moment. A moment that he knew would guarantee he could get the real support of the audience to help him win.

Julian clenched the handkerchief in his hand before placing it back into his pocket. Hopefully, he could make it out of this god-forsaken Games and return to Holly and his family. He stood a chance aswell. He had already secured two allies, formidable ones at that. The District Four pair weren't the usual Careers, and when Julian had spotted them in the Training Centre on the first day they were stood quietly in the corner, away from the rest of the tributes and talking amongst themselves. They had sparked interest in Julian, and so he approached them. Once he had introduced himself, the boy who had dark-chocolate brown hair and was reasonably muscular shaked his hand politely and told him that his name was Jerome. The girl was very attractive and she introduced herself as Irene before giving him a dazzling smile.

From there, Irene and Jerome invited him to come train with them and whilst Julian had expected them to head straight for the weapon stations they dragged him over to the knotting stations. Within an hour, Julian already knew that he wanted these too as allies. They were friendly, nice, strong and exactly the type of people that Julian liked. At the end of the day, he asked them if they were willing to team up with him, and they had accepted his request enthusiastically. Julian did feel kind of awkward around them however, because they seemed very close. By the little snippets of information they had given him about there past, he could tell they were best friends. He could also tell that Jerome wanted something more, yet Irene was oblivious to his actions.

This is what the Capitol did. They took people from the Districts, people that had family, that had best friends. They forced them to fight to the death knowing that they were mostly likely to die. Then there were cases like Jerome and Irene, when two children so close that when one of them was reaped, the other could do nothing but volunteer. Julian's sorrow went out for them, knowing that if they reached the final two one of them would have to kill the other. Julian's face formed a grimace. To think that the Capitol found this amusing.

Unexpectedly, the tube began to rise slowly and Julian was pulled from his thoughts. His stylist, dressed in a ridiculous sparking purple dress smiled at him and waved excitedly at him as the room slowly disappeared out of room and into the arena. These Capitol people were truly sick.

Hot searing light beat down at Julian as he ascended into the arena from the dimly lit waiting room below. The orange glow from the sun enveloped him as he stood there on his podium, illuminating his intense jet-black hair which was messily combed to the side and his well-built frame. He swallowed nervously as his deep hazel eyes, common to many people in District Four, surveyed what 'masterpiece' the Gamemakers had crafted this time. A glistening blue lake extended out in a circular fashion, splattered with dots of green that were various sized islands. The expanse of water only ended when it met a small golden beach that surrounded it in a circular fashion and was overshadowed by white rocky cliffs. Julian, the Cornucopia, and the tributes stood on a small rolling green island that fell into the lake below, it was the middle of the scenic landscape.

Julian had an inkling why this arena had been constructed for this particular Games. It was reasonably small, compact, and designed to keep each tribute in close proximity, to further the bloodshed wrought.

_Fifty…._

_Forty-five…._

_Forty…._

Casting his gaze away from the entrancing lake, he concentrated on inspecting the supplies around the Cornucopia. As he expected, the Gamemakers obviously had been in a violent mood as they'd filled the place with an unbelievable arsenal. Weapons of all kinds and shapes were placed at various intervals around the golden horn- ranging from simple swords to lethal-looking spears and impossibly sharp knives. However, several packs lay about, probably containing supplies other than food and drink, as the arena seemed to be literally brimming with these things. Of course, the Gamemakers wouldn't want the tributes dying of starvation of thirst in the most exciting Games yet? Would they now?

Something caught Julian's attention just twenty yards away from the pedestal. A gleaming silver sickle, his most preferable weapon. Although he had never trained for the Games like most of the children back in Nine and despised the whole notion of the Hunger Games since he was old enough to understand them, he had a natural talent for using the sickle (probably because of all the year's using it in the fields). If Julian wanted to return home, he would need that sickle.

_Thirty…_

_Twenty-five…_

_Twenty…_

But his mentor, Phlox, had told him to escape from the bloodbath with his allies as soon as it began. She was right of course, Julian could deal with getting a weapon when the time came. Julian found it tempting though. Maybe he could make it; he was fast. Probably faster than most of the other Careers here. Yes, that was what he would do. Julian could grab that sickle and get away from the Cornucopia with Irene and Jerome before the killing even began.

_Fifteen…_

_Ten…_

With only ten seconds to spare, Julian spent the remaining seconds scoping out his allies and evaluating who was the nearest threat to him. On the podium to his right stood a small snivelling boy that he barley recognized, but could at least place him as the male tribute for District Twelve. The boy wasn't a danger to Julian at the moment, so he turned his head to his left. Unfortunately, the girl that stood there was definitely a danger. Lerena, the girl from District Two stood with her arms crossed and a bored look on her face. She was absently tapping her foot as she looked around before spotting Julian staring at her. As her wild eyes focused on Julian, she gave him a wide yet creepy smile.

_Five…_

_Four…_

_Three…_

Julian shuffled into a sprinting stance as the countdown got ever closer to One.

_Two…_

_One…_

"Let the 99th Hunger Games begin! And may the odds be ever in your favour!"

As soon as the going sounded, Julian was off his podium and running as fast as he could. But before he could get four meters in front of him, he was grabbed by the back of his shirt and tossed to the ground. The slim and toned form of Lerena was upon him before he had the chance to fight back. Her face was contorted in a demonic smile, the same smile that he had saw just ten seconds earlier, as she grabbed his wrists to restrain him. Her auburn hair whipped and curled in the wind as her cold eyes pierced him as if she was eyeing him up for a meal. Acting now on pure adrenaline, Julian managed to wriggle his right hand free and grasped the nearest thing to him, a sharp stone. He bashed the rock against Lerena's face, who screamed in agony as it scraped across her right eye.

Before the Career could recover, Julian scrambled to his feet and used as much energy as he could muster to sprint to the sickle. Grabbing it by it's handle his eye's caught hold of Jerome running on the other side of the arena towards Irene; who was locked in a bitter fight with a lanky tribute. Just as he was about to make a run for him, a girl appeared out of nowhere with a wicked looking blade. It was clear after her first swing; however, that sword fighting wasn't one of her talents, as Julian easily dodged her manoeuvres. He tightened his grip on the sickle and placed himself in a defensive stance that he had learned at the Training Centre, ready to defend himself if she swung again. There was no need to as he caught sight of Hadrian

from District Two's colossal form behind her carrying a halberd with a wickedly curved blade. Julian rolled straight out of the way as Hadrian unloaded it's impressive power on the un-expecting girl. The Career from Two blasted the axe head of the weapon into her chest, driving her down with a spray of crimson blood. Hadrian then wasted no time in swinging the weapon about and spearing the girl on the curved blade of the pole arm. A puddle of blood grew, staining the ground…already the Capitol had taken a life. Not wanting to meet the same fate, Julian dove up from his feet.

Julian had lost sight of Jerome and Irene, and realised that he might have to just hope that they survived and meet them later. Deciding that the best course of action was just to leave the Cornucopia, he ran towards the lake. However, it seemed like the odds were still stacked against him as Lerena barrelled towards him like an angry bull, holding a knive and looking determined to murder Julian for adding a fresh scar to her face. Julian dodged her again as he sprinted as fast as he could, not stopping until he reached the drop into the lake.

As he dived, he quickly twisted his head just in time to see knive spiralling towards him.

_**AN: Excited? If there wasn**__**'**__**t enough action where there should have been or it was too short for an opening to the arena. I apologize! But anyway I hoped you enjoyed it and please remember to review! **_


	2. A Close Encounter

_**AN: Slightly shorter than the first chapter but here's the sceond. The reason it is because it's basically just the immediate aftermath of the Bloodbath and the first night. Also, I'm sure you guys would be happy to know that I have the entire story planned out from now to the end. Some changes may be made but not major. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please please review and follow! I really put a lot of effort into these chapters and spend time that I should be spending doing revisions for exams, I'm instead trying to get these out for you and it's quite upsetting that I only get 1 Review! And thankyou to that reviewer, Jayfish:D I suggest you all go and check out her stories, because they are brilliant. One that I recommend is 'Breathe in the Dead' (or something like that, got confused) by own Tribute: Teren from D4 is in it!**_

Julian gritted his teeth and wrenched the knife from his skin. As it turned out, Lerena wasn't the best thrower around; as the silver blade had only ended up impacting his calf, but it still hurt like hell.

Fresh blood poured from the wound as he crawled away from the sand and into the cover of the pine trees. Julian had tried to move as far as he could away from the Cornucopia, but had been unable to swim with his leg in so much agony and had instead moved towards the nearest piece of land, a large island about 50 metres away from the centre of the arena. The dense foliage there offered him a valuable hiding spot from other tributes and a temporary camp until his leg healed.

Looking for something to pressurise the wound, Julian found nothing to stop the flow of blood. While most of the other tributes had concentrated on the weapon stations at the training centre in the Capitol, Julian had instead spent most of his time learning survival techniques with District Four. Whilst he there, one of the instructors had said that the best thing to stop the loss of blood was to use something as a temporary tourniquet. He threw of his shirt, exposing his somewhat muscular chest; crafted by years of working out in the fields. Tearing it into pieces, he tied it around his leg and knotted it above the deep cut.

Even with the hastily built tourniquet, however he would still have trouble walking around and needed a safe place to low lie until his sponsors could send him a real bandage. As soon as that thought entered his mind, he dismissed it with a half-hearted chuckle. Phlox might have the charm and the looks, but Julian doubted she would be able to convince a wealthy citizen to sponsor him. They would be pooling all their money for someone like Hadrian. Of course, Julian still had his card to play but he didn't want to waste it this early in the Games.

Deciding that he would move soon to find a place to rest his head, Julian grasped the sickle he had fought so hard to acquire. It's handle was wooden and rough whilst the crescent blade was not, it was smooth and reflected light perfectly. He had two weapons, the sickle and the knive that Lerena had thrown. Speaking of which, he let go of the sickle and took hold of the blade with his hand and used a spare piece of shirt to wipe it clean. Depositing both of his weapons in his utility belt, something that had been given to Julian and the other tributes just before the Games, he succeeded in standing up slowly, carefully making sure he didn't strain his injured leg. Once he was up, Julian cast a wary look around. This was prime ambush territory.

* * *

Seeing no obvious signs of being watched or followed, Julian limped into the wilderness.

After travelling for what Julian estimated as about three hours, Julian was weary and the sun had nearly set beneath the horizon of the arena. His leg ached from over exertion and the wound had reopened several times already. It was time to find somewhere to sleep.

His dark brown eyes settled on a very small clearing hid by vegetation and the shadow of the pine trees. This was a suitable place to lie low for his first night. He lied down as comfortably as he could with a damaged leg. Julian made sure that his body could not be seen through the tall plants before settling down and falling into a restless sleep.

* * *

A few hours later Julian was awakened by the blaring anthem of the Capitol that signalled the kill count for earlier that day. Julian wasn't worried that the anthem had waked him; he had had several disturbing dreams. All in which seemed to involve him dying a different unpleasant death each time, acted out by Lerena. He turned his gaze to the night sky, lit up only by the twinkling stars and the bright full moon. Julian wondered if the sky was indeed real and wasn't just a fake canvas painted by the Gamemakers. It looked real enough, but the moonlight seemed to have an almost unnatural glow to it.

The faces of the dead appeared in the sky. Seven of them. Surprisingly, the first face that appeared was Lerena. Julian wondered who had killed her, surely a Career that fierce wouldn't have died at the hands of a weaker Tributes. It must have been one of her 'friends', Nickel or Chantilly most likely. Hadrian didn't seem to be one to stab people in the back. Careers had died during the Bloodbath before, but it was a rare and unusual event.

Moving on, the boy from 3 and 5 appeared followed by the District Six pair. Julian felt relieved, both Jerome and Irene had escaped unscathed. He would have to try and meet them as soon as possible. They must have been smart and crossed the lake and swam towards the beach. None of the other tributes were excellent swimmers unlike the duo and he doubted that they had risked crossing the lake. Julian decided that he would have to formulate a plan to meet them as soon as he was able, no doubt they were waiting for him too.

The girl from 11 came next, and the list ended with the District Twelve boy. It was a surprising number for the first day of the Games, usually over eight tributes were killed in the Bloodbath, well at least for the last couple of years - and many more had been expected in a Games with a very bloodthirsty Career pack. Julian doubted the number of deaths would keep the Capitol happy for another day, but might have been enough to stop the Gamemakers unleashing a mutt or letting off a trap.

Suddenly, Julian stiffened as he heard the unmistakable sound of running footsteps moving in his direction; his first thought was a mutt, but his fears were quenched when the tall red-haired boy burst into the clearing. The lanky boy looked like he had just run a marathon, his freckled face was beaded with droplets of sweat and he was bent over breathless. Julian noticed that he had been the boy fighting Irene during the Bloodbath, and taking a closer look at him he recognized him as the District Ten Male. Luckily, Julian had had enough sense to camouflage himself in order to remain hidden and so the boy didn't take a second look at where Julian was hiding.

Julian's heart quickened as he heard more scuffling of feet. Just then, Nickel from District One burst though the trees. Everything about him screamed dangerous; to his jet black hair that was spiked up at all angles; to the wide smile that was plastered across his eerie face. His most prominent and altogether scary feature however, was a long scar that ran from just above his eye to below his cheekbone. Nickel was quickly followed by two companions, Hadrian and a slim and toned blonde female that looked like she had been training her whole life for this moment. She could only be Chantilly, Nickel's district partner.

All three brandished weapons at the poor, helpless boy. Nickel carried a rapier that gave the impression that it could cut through skin, bone and muscle in one swipe. Hadrian held the large halberd effortlessly; it's blade still stained with the dried blood of the girl from earlier. Chantilly carried a weapon to match her persona, a long equities spear with a nasty protruding tip.

They circled the boy like vultures, cutting off any method of escape as he stood there, tears now mingling with the sweat rolling down his cheeks as he pleaded with the Careers to let him go. If only there was a way for Julian to help the boy without jeopardising his own safety.

The boy made a futile attempt to escape his killers but it was no use. Before he could even move his feet, the spear pierced straight through his chest and embedded itself in the ground beneath his shoes. Gallons of sticky blood poured from the gaping hole in his torso. Unbelievably, the red-haired boy was still alive, guttering moans escaping from his throat before they were replaced with more blood. Chantilly jogged over in a blink of the eye and wrenched the spear free. The boy crumpled but still Julian heard no cannon fire, Chantilly hovered the spear tip straight over his dying heart before plunging it in, silencing him forever. The thunderous noise of the cannon boomed through the woods and Julian had a chance to vomit quietly, unleashing the breakfast he had eaten before entering the arena in a disgusting mess.

Fortunately, the trio had not heard him and now seemed to be busy arguing with each other in a heated debate. Two of them atleast.

"You cow Chantilly, he was mine!" Nickel's voice was as creepy as Julian had imagined it.

"You already killed Lerena, so shut your mouth before I rip your jaw from your UGLY face!" Chantilly's voice was entrancing yet laced with daggers. So Nickel had killed Lerena, that didn't surprise Julian.

Nickel trembled at her remark and threw himself at the blonde. Before he could cut open her throat, Hadrian stepped in front of him and grabbed his wrist. Nickel's sword dropped his sword and he shouted out in pain and frustration as Hadrian twisted it. Nickel wriggled manically, but Hadrian held his ground totally unfazed by the boy's threats and shouts.

"I suggest you go back to camp now! Me and Chantilly will carry on from here."

Nickle tried to protest again, but Hadrian gave him a firm look and he gave up. Casting a long hated look at Chantilly, he turned around and jogged back off into the darkness. Chantilly smiled as he disappeared.

"Don't wind him up! We need him!" said Hadrian in a harsh voice, clearly the leader of the three.

"I'm only playing!" She replied, opening her eyes wide in a puppy-dog like manner.

"Nice try but that won't work on me. Now come on, let's find some others before morning."

Julian remained still and quiet for ten minutes until he was sure that they were gone. It was clear from his little encounter that the Careers were strong, yet it was only a matter of time before their fragile alliance came crashing down. Hopefully the three would take each other out and Julian wouldn't have to worry about them. But he was sure that wouldn't be the case.

_**AN: There we go and remeber to review or otherwise are be sending someone over to kick yur as*. Only joking, or am I? **_


	3. First Blood

_**AN: Here's Chapter Three. It's shorter than the other two and sorry about that, didn't know how to lengthen in it. Sorry! But please remember to Review! Please?**_

Julian had little sleep after witnessing the Careers kill the lanky copper-haired boy from Ten, continuously replaying the event in his head over and over again. The boy's pleading. The spear punctuating his body. The moans he had let out. The disgust Julian had felt when Nickel and Chantilly argued about who's kill it was supposed to be.

Venturing up from his sleeping place, Julian gazed at where the event had taken place. Although the body had been moved last night by a Capitol hovercraft, the boy's entrails and dried blood stained the ground. Just looking at the scene made Julian wanted to gag violently, but he silently willed himself to quiet down. Julian half-expected one of the Careers to come running back through the trees, yet no-one came. As he moved, his leg still ached from the wound the knife had inflicted the day before. Luckily his shirt had stopped him from losing anymore of the precious bodily liquid, even at the expense of exposing his upper body to the elements.

Julian's stomach grumbled and he placed his arm over his abdomen. He hadn't eaten a meal since yesterday morning and his body was already noticing the absence of food. Julian longed for the rich food that was piled high on the tables at the Training Centre. Deciding that his first port of call was to satisfy his gnawing hunger, Julian ventured towards the direction of the island's beach and the lake. He was certain fish could be found underneath it's waves.

For his own protection and to gather fish, Julian reached into his utility belt and pulled out his knive. Convincing himself that he would be fine, he causally moved towards the beach through the trees.

The inviting beach was small and luscious; a holidaymaker's paradise. To Julian, it was his only chance of food as the island seemed to be devoid of life. No exotic fruit hung from it's trees, and whatever animals that did make it their home they were extremely quiet.

As the soft and cold waves washed over his feet and toes, Julian desired nothing better than to dive into the blue water. Although District Nine didn't have a coastline at all, he longed to visit the small ponds that it did. One of the few places he felt comfortable and safe from the tyranny of the Capitol or the Peacekeepers. Here, however, Julian wasn't safe and he definitely didn't have any privacy. Right now, the whole of Panem would be watching the Hunger Games and the Capitol would be switching between tributes, yet they still would show enough of Julian to let the Districts know he was alive.

He was glad the Gamemakers had decided to make this arena. He knew however that this entrancing water was a death-trap, a number of deadly aquatic-mutts engineered by the Gamemakers probably lurked beneath it's inviting surface. Just waiting for the right moment to seek it's teeth into an un-expecting tribute.

Julian shivered as disturbing images flashed in his mind. Sure, Irene and Jerome had said that there were plenty of dangerous sea-life in the oceans at home, but they were timid and rarely attacked the residents of District Four as they went about their daily fishing. Whatever waited beneath the lake, however, gave him the creeps. No matter how much advice that said otherwise.

Julian had no choice if he didn't want to starve then he would have to move into the water. Placing his hands in the lake, there, just a little to his right swam a darting olive fish. He had know idea what species it was, surely Jerome and Irene would know. It was a lengthy size and just had enough meat on it to last the entire day if he eat it sparingly. Julian grasped it in his hands as it wiggled about, attempting to break free and crash into the water below. Stabbing the knife into it's scaled side, it died almost instantly. Unfortunately, it released a horrid and revolting smell. To absorbed in his handy-work, Julian failed to notice the movement behind him.

As the knife's reflection flashed in the water below, Julian had only a split-second to dive into the water before the blade stabbed the air where his head had been only a second ago. Losing both his catch and his own knife, Julian was utterly defenceless against the girl from District Ten. Water splashed around them as he desperately dodged each of her thrusts like they were dancing a lethal waltz. Drived on only by adrenaline and instinct, Julian let loose an elbow that connected with her hand. The long knive was knocked from her grasp and the waves carried it away out of her reach. Without her weapon, Maroon stood gasping as Julian pushed her over. Falling into the waves, Julian snatched up her long brown hair pulling it as he pushed her head into the water. Maroon struggled wildly as her lungs desperately clung to the air that she had left.

She stiffened for a moment and Julian relaxed his tight grasp, which he soon realised was a mistake as she swung an uppercut with her fist at his face. He was drove backwards as her clenched hand impacted on his chin, landing in the golden sand.

Maroon snatched the daunting knive from the sand to their right, about to plunge the blade straight into his head. However, she was still trying to catch her breath from nearly drowning and Julian used this to his advantage, kicking her in the chest and driving the girl away from him.

The next few moments were a blur. Before Julian had time to think about the consequences of his next movements, he grabbed the knife and drove it through the girl's neck. A spray of blood erupted from her throat and splattered onto his face and chest. Wiping it from his skin, Julian sank to his knees. Entirely shocked at his actions.

Julian had killed someone. _Killed. _Maroon's lifeless eyes stared back at him with accustations and hatred and no doubt her family back at home was doing the same. She would never see them again and her family would only see the frame of the coffin she lied in. This was his actions and his fault, there were no excuses. Julian wished he could turn the clock back. But it was too late, the girl's body and the booming sound of the cannon evidence of that.

After a few minutes, a Capitol hovercraft appeared in the air above Julian and he moved out of the way. It shot a snaring metal drone to pick up the Maroon's body. Just like that, the Capitol had taken her. The husk of someone Julian had killed. He would never forget this moment.

Coming back to his senses but still numb with guilt and remorse, Julian swiftly returned back to his resting place. His appetite was gone and he didn't bother going back for another fish. Instead, he sat back against a trunk of tree.

Julian had known that when he had entered the arena he would have to kill at some point, but not like that. He hadn't driven the knife through Maroon because he needed to protect himself or because he was scared.

Julian realised now why he had really done it. In that fleeting moment…**he had wanted to kill her…**

_**AN: Okay, there was chapter three and to be honest I'm not very happy with it! But let me know what you guys think by reviweing**_


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